Available online at www.globalilluminators.org
GlobalIlluminators FULL PAPER PROCEEDING Multidisciplinary Studies
Full Paper Proceeding GTAR-2014, Vol. 1, 173-25 ISBN: 978-969-9948-30-5
GTAR-14
The Study Of Comic Influences On New Generation’s Drawing Styles
Li-Chiou Chen1*
Department of Information Communication, Yuan Ze University Yuan-Tung Road, Chung-Li, Taiwan
Abstract
The status of comic was ignored by society in the past, reading comic seems to waste a time and was believed useless for learning. However, due to the help of mass media and the Internet, it has been gradually changed. Comic is not only being a very important part of popular culture, it also is a part of the Cultural and Creative Industry in Taiwan in recent years. The new generation of drawing learners, especially students who study in the universities of art and design related departments, are the people who will work for our cultural and creative industry. These students have more or less enjoyed reading comic since they were young, therefore the often seen styles of comic have imprinted on their memory. The aims of this study hope to understand the new generation of drawing learners, how they have been influenced by comic and how are the relations between drawing styles of the learners and their preferences of comic styles? Therefore the study plans to employ qualitative method to discuss the phenomenon of the learner influenced by comic styles, proving art teachers to have a reference when teaching traditional or digital drawing. The study also analyzes the relevance of the learners’ drawing styles and their preferences of comic styles, giving students have an opportunity to rethink their own drawing styles.
© 2014 The Authors. Published by Global Illuminators. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/) Peer-review under responsibility of the Scientific & Review committee of GTAR-2014.
Keywords― Comic, Comic Styles, Drawing Learners Introduction In recent years, the social image of comics has gradually improved, which is no longer the same as the neglected way it used to be. The broadcasting of the Internet and media has boosted comics to become an indispensable role in the evolution of mass or popular culture. According to the 2010 Book Publishing Industry Report released by the Government Information Office, Executive Yuan, a total of 28,084 categories of new books were published in 2010. Among them, the number of categories of newly published textbooks accounted the highest at 17.0%, followed by comic books at 16.8% and novels at 16.5%. As to the number of new books being sold, comic books accounted the highest at 23.3%. This figure shows that the comics publishing industry enjoyed a unique performance in the overall book publishing industry. The major group of comic readers age from 12 to 15. However, the age groups of comic readers are expanding (GIO of Executive Yuan, 2010).
*All correspondence related to this article should be directed to Li-Chiou Chen, Department of Information Communication, Yuan Ze University Yuan-Tung Road, Chung-Li, Taiwan Email: nameera_ [email protected]
© 2015 The Authors. Published by Global Illuminators. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/) Peer-review under responsibility of the Scientific & Review committee of GTAR-2015.
Li-Chiou Chen /GTAR-2015/Full Paper Proceeding/Vol-1,173-184
Therefore, in addition to textbooks, comic books are important extracurricular readings for students before they begin studies at university. Drawing learners of the younger generations, particularly art and design related college and university students, will become crucial talents in the design as well as cultural and creative industries in Taiwan. Those students more or less have had the experience in reading comics. Besides, they have been surfing in the works such as comics, TV cartoons, animations, etc. since their childhood, which are all presented in the form of drawing. These popular drawing forms have carved an unforgettable part in their past. Japanese comics have imposed profound influence on Taiwanese adolescents. Many Japanese comic books targeted at young boys and girls, also known as shōnen manga and shōjo manga, are favored by the majority of Taiwanese adolescents. The experience in reading these comic books has created some impact to a certain degree on younger drawing learners planning to engage in the art and design industry. As a result, this study intends to further explore the influence of popular comics on the drawing of art and design related students in Taiwan. Using qualitative method explores those students who were considered having been highly influenced by comic, to understand the effect of comic on their drawing styles. The purposes of this study are as follows. 1. Discussing the influence of comics on young learners’ drawing styles. 2. Exploring the correlations between drawing learners and their preferences for comic styles. Literature Review Development of Comic in Taiwan: Stories told through pictures are generally understood as comic. However, the special comic form developed in Japan is called “manga”. Taiwanese comics are deeply affected by Japanese comics. During the Martial Law period, the development of comics in Taiwan was influenced by the government’s promulgation of the “Guidance Regulations for Editing and Printing Comic Strips” which established the system to review the content and themes of comics produced in Taiwan and prohibit the import of Japanese comics (Chen, 2006). This system consequently led to pirated editions of comics in Taiwan’s market. Such limitation forced some comic creators at that time to learn and familiarize with the drawing techniques by imitating Japanese comics. Therefore, the comic style during the said period was profoundly affected by Japanese comic styles. After the Martial Law was lifted, the censorship system was abolished. The themes of comics were no longer strictly confined. The development of local comic creators became alive during the peak when Japanese comic works were crazily pirated. The phenomenon of piracy wasn’t gradually stopped until the new copyright law was implemented. The comic publishers in Taiwan recruited local talents through competitions and further signed copyright contracts with Japanese publishers so as to produce comic books featuring both local and Japanese characteristics popular among readers. Until this period, there had been many local comic creators, such as Uen Chen, A Tuei and Ren-Chieh Mai, active in the international stage. The development of comic market in Taiwan was faced with a rapid recession because East Asia was engulfed in the financial crisis (Su, 2006).
International Conference on Global Trends in Academic Research” (GTAR- 2015)
174
Li-Chiou Chen /GTAR-2015/Full Paper Proceeding/Vol-1,173-184
In recent years, Taiwan’s government has gradually paid more attention to the cultural and creative industry (Yeh, 2007). For cultivating talents engaged in the comic industry, related competitions have been held to unearth potential newcomers. In addition, these newcomers have been guided to publish their works or have further study abroad in order to foster another rise of the comic industry. The new path being developed by younger Taiwanese comic creators is now booming. Meanwhile, it is internationally affirmed. The comic industry has come to light again through news reports in Taiwan. Apart from traditional printed versions, Taiwan’s comic industry is actively seeking Internet channels that used to conflict with copyrighted editions but now features high circulation to serve as optional platforms to release local comic works (Liu, 2011). The prosperously developed Internet has become a platform for amateurs to release their works. The graphic-text blogger, Wan Wan, became famous overnight because she depicts work and daily lives via comics (Hong & Chao, 2008; Chen, 2007). Since then, there have been more and more graphic-text bloggers engaged in running personal journals in the form of comics known to the public. By catching the rise of the development of local and original comics in Taiwan, the Academia Sinica Digital Archives team published the Creative Comic Collection (Hsia, 2012) by transforming stiff digital archives into reader-friendly comics. The participants of this program are comic creators of the younger generations in Taiwan. Through both traditional printed versions as well as online digital versions, the works produced by these comic creators have embraced diverse directions of development instead of only having the old-fashioned way of publication. Such action has turned the crisis brought by the Internet world into an opportunity. The Internet has also become one of the platforms for the comic creators to release their new works. In recent years, the idol dramas produced in Taiwan have gradually sprung up, creating an environment for the entertainment and media industries to reach out its hand to the comic circle. Many Taiwanese comic creators have been invited to make contributions to the industries. Being boosted by the plots of local idol dramas and stars, the sales of adapted comics double that of literary works produced by writers. Adapted comics have sometimes ranked the monthly best-selling books. Comics and dramas are complementary to each other. Though such combination didn’t commence soon, it indeed paves another path for junior comic creators in Taiwan (Chou, 2011; Chen, 2006). The early development of Taiwanese comics was generally influenced by Japan. It has now stepped forward its own direction and become a part in developing the cultural and creative industries. The platforms for the younger generations to release their comic works are no longer confined to traditional printed forms. The rise of the Internet has provided new platforms for comic creators. Until now, graphic-text journals have been popular among readers. In recent years, the comics adapted from Taiwan’s original idol dramas have been very popular to readers. It is also common to see Taiwan’s local comics being adapted to dramas. Taiwan’s comics have come out of the traditional creative forms and publication platforms. They have presented diverse development possibilities.
Special Characteristics and Styles of Comic: Comic creators’ preferences and personal styles can determine comic presentations. Their works can be shown with simple lines or complicated details. For example, Hsing-Chin
International Conference on Global Trends in Academic Research” (GTAR- 2015)
175
Li-Chiou Chen /GTAR-2015/Full Paper Proceeding/Vol-1,173-184
Liu’s Brother A-San, You-Hsiang Ao’s Messy Temple, De-Yong Chu’s PinkLadies and Wan Wan’s Don’t Wanna Go To Work use simple lines to present humor and fun and become a fad. These comics featuring simplicity empahsize smooth lines and changes of thickness of strokes. By combining laughable plots, they soon catch the attention of many readers. Fujio F. Fujiko’s Doraemon and Charles M. Schulz’s Peanuts are also attractive and have become famous in the world because of their simple style. In addition, Qing-Hui Lin’s An Appointment of the Glass Shoes, Su-Lan You’s The Fire King and Mino Obana’s Kodocha use complicated details and tones to present light and shadow. This type of comics is favored to present the genre of shōjo manga in Japan. Sparkling innocent eyes with fancy colors intrigue female teenagers into the plots so that they can’t stop reading one after another. There are more comics categorized between simple and detailed styles. As shown in Figure 1, Sian-Zong Jhou’s Origami Fighters, Osamu Tezuka’s Black Jack, Osamu Akimoto’s Kochikame, and Superman and Batman published by DC Comics are several examples. Among them, the comics having superheros are quite popular to Americans. Early comics used color blocks to tell the stories of heros who uphold justice and head off disasters. Each type of comics has its own supporters who treat it as a model to imitate and try to learn related drawing skills.
Figure 1: Comics from the simple style to complicated style The history of comics shows that the themes and drawing styles have gradually become diverse as the circulation and popularity are increasing. Classifications of comic books differ from before. The style of comics is often affected by skills, background and ways of learning which a comic artist has. Taiwan has been profoundly influenced by Japan in regard to comics. Japanese comics are by age categorized into shōjo manga, shōnen manga, seinen manga and adult comics. Shōjo manga focuses on depicting feelings and the plots mostly are related to romances. Shōnen manga is targeted at adolescents and depicts themes such as friendship, hardworking and victory. It aims at presenting encouragement, freshness and speed. The above two types of comics currently are the most popular extracurricular readings for junior and senior high school students (GIO, Executive Yuan, 2010). Therefore, these two types of comics have also created impact on young drawing learners to a certain degree in Taiwan. In this study, the comics are categorized into seven styles based on their drawing, including simple style, collage style, realistic style, shōjo splendid style, shōjo esthetic style, shōnen exaggerating style and shōnen plain style. Among those styles, shōjo splendid style, shōjo esthetic style, shōnen exaggerating style and shōnen
International Conference on Global Trends in Academic Research” (GTAR- 2015)
176
Li-Chiou Chen /GTAR-2015/Full Paper Proceeding/Vol-1,173-184
plain style are classified according to the characteristics of Japanese comics. The characteristics of the comic drawing styles and examples are explained as follows. The simple style implies straight and terse drawing with fluent and sketchy lines. More blank space is left on drawings, which is similar to “simple drawing”. A number of leading European, American and Japanese comics characterize as a simple style. For example, Osamu Tezuka, who won the title of “the father of manga” in Japan, presents a standard simple drawing style with round lines. In addition, Doraemon (as shown in Figure 2), a serial comic since 1969, has been accompanied many people in their childhood. Its round lines are similar to those drawn by Osamu Tezuka. The scenes and images project a sense of harmony. The friendly drawing style easily brings readers into the scenarios of the story in which readers seem to share everything with the cartoon characters to have these magic tools for a start of fantastic and childlike journey. Chih-Chung Tsai, a renowned local comic artist, also creates works in a simple style. In his works, only important parts are outlined while minor details are often omitted or left unfocused. The overall scenes allow readers to have more space breathing and thinking. Comics in a simple style may seem easy but actually require brilliant drawing skills to present vivid content through simple lines. Another drawing style presents an obvious touch of color blocking on the scenes or images. Such collage style illustrates concise lines and simple color blocks. Many American superhero comics such as Batman, Superman and Spiderman apply such fashion. In Bob Kane’s Batman (Figure 3), neither complicated gradient colors nor dots are used except clear lines and color blocks. Such method can present harmonious and vigorous images. Joe Shuster, another American comic artist creating superhero comics, uses more exquisite lines to separate color blocks. Comic works in such collage style apply different color blocks with clear lines to show breathtaking episodes where superheroes finally beat bad guys.
Figure 2. Figure 3. Batmancreated by Figure 4. Goncreated by Tanaka Doraemoncreated Bob Kane Masashi by Fujiko F. Fujio
Producing a comic work requires a variety of drawing skills. Among them, sketching is particularly emphasized to present a realistic style. In such comic works, the appearances of characters, backgrounds and accessories are in close proportion to those in our real lives. Shadow and light are presented in a detailed and delicate manner. For example, in Gon (Figure 4) created by Tanaka Masashi, a Japanese comic artist, the skin of the dinosaur, scales of fish and fur of bear are all pictured in a lifelike way. The trees in the background are close to the way they are in reality. The struggles of the fish being caught are vividly sketched. The texture of materials and dynamic scenes in the comic work simulate our real world. This is a classic comic work featuring a realistic style. Comic artists creating a
International Conference on Global Trends in Academic Research” (GTAR- 2015)
177
Li-Chiou Chen /GTAR-2015/Full Paper Proceeding/Vol-1,173-184
realistic style usually have excellent abilities in drawing skills. Readers can enjoy a visual feast through true-to-life works. Shōjo manga lays stress on depicting feelings. Romance is often adopted as a theme to pave plots. The leading characters of comic works are usually in their adolescence. The shōjo splendid style conveys gorgeous and complicated images. Either characters or backgrounds are drawn with fine lines and detailed accessories. More light and light reflections are shown on the scenes to display a grand atmosphere. Comic artists such as CLAMP, Kaori Yuki and Yumi Tamura are famous for their splendid style. CLAMP (Figure 5), a Japanese comic group, successfully creates its own unique drawing skills. Girls with big crystal eyes gracefully appear throughout plots. CLAMP introduces dotting skills into shōjo manga. The light and shadow formed by dots vividly delivers scenes in a natural way. In CLAMP’s works, each character’s hair and gloss of skin are exquisitely pictured. The leaves, tiles and columns in those scenes are added with clear light reflections. Even the light reflections of ear rings are not overlooked. As a result, the scenes become splendid and rich. On the other hand, the shōjo esthetic style comes between the simple and the shōjo splendid styles. Though characters are depicted in delicate models and with detailed accessories, the scenes present a sense of overall freshness and clearness. Meanwhile, fewer complicated lines allow those scenes to give readers a break. Many shōjo manga works are categorized into such a style. For instance, Kaimu Tachibana (Figure 6), a Japanese comic artist, creates scenes in which the characters are depicted with fine lines while the backgrounds are treated in a simpler way by leaving out complicated lines. Therefore, the focus of a scene is more clearly highlighted.
Figure 5: Clamp Figure 6: Ashita No Tamagocreated by Kaimu Tachibana
Japanese shōnen manga adopts themes such as adventures, vitality, competition, victory and friendship which the adolescents are interested in to form plots. Shōnen exaggerating style usually creates characters in a more exaggerated manner. The proportion of figures is often overdrawn. Most female characters have very curvy and sexy figures. The scenes convey detailed decorations. Comic works such as One Piece and Yu-Gi-Oh! (literallyGame King) have exaggerated figures. In One Piece (Figure 7), the leading character, Monkey D. Luffy, is a young boy who is determined to become the next Pirate King and sets out an adventure on the sea with his talented crew. The characters in this manga series have their unique features and apply their special gifts through gracefully-
International Conference on Global Trends in Academic Research” (GTAR- 2015)
178
Li-Chiou Chen /GTAR-2015/Full Paper Proceeding/Vol-1,173-184
shaped bodies. Compared with the shōnen exaggerating style, the shōnen plain style seems quite modest. This austere style delivers clear lines and puts less focus on clothing and ornaments. The figures are generally in proportion to those in our real lives. Kochikame, Pokémon andDigital Monsters are several works illustrating plain lines without exaggerated figures. The world most long-live serialized shōnen manga, Kochikame (Figure 8), describes episodes and anecdotes happening around a police station in view of the vivid character KankichiRyotsu, who is also a trouble and joke maker. The figures in the comic series are in close proportion to reality. This comic tells stories by lively projecting the leading character’s lust for money throughout the scenes without adding exaggerated models or gorgeous ornaments.
Figure 7: One Piece created by EiichiroOda Figure 8: Kochikamecreated by Osamu Akimoto
Research Method The freshmen, who took the drawing lesson for the first time, of the Information Communication Department of Yuan Ze University were invited as the subjects for this study. A total of 73 students were tested. They were given the “Test of Drawing Learner’s Sketch” and the “Questionnaire of Influence of Comics on Drawing Learners and Their Style Preferences”.The examination of the drawing experts confirms that the sketches done by the 14 students who “agreed that they were affected by comics” and 7 students who “disagreed that they were affected by comics” were substantially influenced by comics. Those who were considered having been highly influenced by comic were later interviewed. Interviews were conducted with 21 test participants. Three of them were absent. As a result, only 18 participants were interviewed, including 12 students (A01 ~ A12) who “agreed that they were affected by comics” and 6 students (B01 ~ B06) who “disagreed that they were affected by comics”.
Data Analysis Discussing the Influence of Comics on Young Learners’ Drawing Styles: Self-awareness of the effect created by comics: The interviewees who “agreed that they were affected by comics” expressed that they would “imitate” the styles of comics and then develop their personal styles. The majority of the interviewees who “agreed that they were affected by comics” would copy works created by different comic artists and combinethe artists’ strengths and then gradually evolve into
International Conference on Global Trends in Academic Research” (GTAR- 2015)
179
Li-Chiou Chen /GTAR-2015/Full Paper Proceeding/Vol-1,173-184
their own drawing styles (A02, A03, A04, A06,A10). For example, the interviewees would draw or modify their drawings by imitating comic books. “I directly copied the styles as they were in the comics. Whensuch copies look good, I would further practice them and then turn them into my own style” (A04). Once the interviewees who “agreed that they were affected by comics” formed their own comic styles, they would intuitively apply them to design. Some of the interviewees, particularly those “agreeing that they were affected by comic styles”, would adopt comics to the works they designed. This was because they considered that they had already created personal styles they were good at in the process of imitating and learning different comic styles. A04 especially mentioned that shewould apply shōjo splendid style to design so as to highlight her personal drawing characteristics. On the other hand, the interviewees who “disagreed that they were affected by comics” only referred to comic styles and then fuse these comic artists’ styles into their own. They thought they merely took comics for reference instead of imitating them (B03). Moreover, those who insisted that they were not affected by comics emphasized that the styles were created by themselves instead of imitating (B04 and B06). “I have my own drawing style. It’s not developed by imitation. It took me a while to sharpen my skills in drawingthings like faces, eyes and so on, and gradually my own drawing style was created” (B04). B04 stressed that she had never imitated any comic styles but created her own. Several of the interviewees who disagreed that they were affected by comics also expressed that they would learn the drawing styles presented in American cartoons though their drawing styles were not affected by comics. “I watched cartoons in American styles produced by Disney more often. I learned drawing based on some of its cartoon characters. For example, some characters featured big noses” (B05). Or they would refer to some works characterizing illustrations. “I read Jimmy’s works rather than comics” (A07). Therefore, comics are not their favorites but illustrations and American cartoons which are the media having created more effect on them. The Effect of Diverse Channels on Learning Comic Drawing: Regarding the channels for learning comic drawing, the interviewees agreeing that they were affected by comics considered that their drawing styles were influenced by peers. They often learned drawing by way of online platforms dedicated to comics. Most interviewees would exchange information with their peers and learn something good from others. “I look at my classmate’s works. She is excellent. I’ve got affected by her after observing her works from time to time” (A04). Apart from the influence of classmates, they were sometimes affected by cyber friends. Take B04 for example, she particularly mentioned that she didn’t have her own comic drawing style until being influenced by cyber friends. “I got to know some cyber friends after I started playing online games. Those friends were drawing comics. Being influenced by them, I started drawing”. The Internet has enabled most interviewees to learn drawing and exchange information with others by way of online platforms dedicated to comics. They learned comic drawing, asked questions and exchanged opinions via online platforms such as Bahamut, REVOLUTION, Plurk, Weibo and so on. “I would look at others’ works and sometimes ask questions” (A08). Therefore, the channels for the young generations to learn drawing comics are diverse. In addition to their own endeavors, mutual peer encouragement is also an important factor to enhance their strengths in drawing comics followed by online learning and exchange. The Influence of Different Comic Styles on Representation of Drawing:
International Conference on Global Trends in Academic Research” (GTAR- 2015)
180
Li-Chiou Chen /GTAR-2015/Full Paper Proceeding/Vol-1,173-184
Among Japanese comics, shōjo esthetic and shōjo splendid styles are favored by many female interviewees. They’ve also imitated the “lines and strokes” in these two styles to present a decisive and delicate style. “Take hair for example, very fine lines are used in shōjo manga. The lines are sodecisive and fine” (A03). Concise and non-broken lines represent a style characterizing tidiness and simplicity (A04, A08, A11). However, simple lines are often used without losing “delicacy”. The interviewees would pay close attention to details. They put stress on wrinkles and materials of clothes as well as the details showing the gloss of hair. They even elaboratelyemphasized light and shadow (A04, B05). In addition, some of the interviewees who liked shōjo esthetic and shōjo splendid styles tended to draw thin and tall figures. They usually pictured tall and slender physical shapes, which had relatively small heads, 10% or 20% in proportion to the figures’ height, and long arms and legs (A02, A04). Among Japanese shōnen manga, One Piece features shōnen exaggerating style. The interviewees who liked such style expressed that it was able to motivate drawers’ creativity for modeling characters. In this style, the characters have clear-cut and exaggerated modeling and can easily be identified by their silhouettes. Therefore, they would try to imitate those characters while drawing. For instance, “when I read One Piece, I would observe her clothes and hairstyle. I may imitate the style of the clothes” (B02). Thus, the creativity of drawers in modeling characters can be spurred. Moreover, the interviewees who preferred shōnen exaggerating style would also use simple and clean strokes. However, the lines were obviously stiffer and lacked a sense of delicacy like it was in the shōjo style. “Unlike the hair in shōjo manga, it is shown in a way of color block without additional details. It looks stiffer” (B03). Consequently, the lines in shōnen exaggerating style, though being simple and clean, are stiffer in comparison with the shōjo style. Additionally, the ways to draw eyes vary in different comic styles. For example, the shōjo splendid style characterizes big sparkling eyes so the interviewees who were affected by this style would draw crystal-like shapes in eyes. “The eyes are bright and crystal-like. I think they look beautiful so I imitate it” (A02). The works of B01 also display the same fashion to picture such big sparkling eyes. This is an important feature for learners favoringshōjo manga while they are drawing. Interestingly, some of the interviewees pointed out that they dislikedthose big crystal-like eyes in shōjo manga very much. They thought those big and bright eyes were exaggerating and unreal. “I don’t draw eyes in a bling bling style. That makes me repulsive” (A01). These interviewees prefer shōjo esthetic style with simplicity. This is because they thought the eyes in the shōjo splendid style were unnatural. The gradient method is more able to naturally picture eyes. Meanwhile, the interviewees being affected by the simple style would draw eyes by dots. “Eyes can simply be presented with a round circle having a dot in it. It’s simpler without redundant details. I like this short, cute fashion” (A07). The interviewees expressed that their drawing styles changed as their preferences for comic styles altered. For example, some people used to think that they liked the big crystal-like eyes in the splendid style but now they prefer the eyes drawn in the shōjo esthetic style. “I used to think that they were gorgeous and beautiful. They looked rich. Later, I found the eyes in a simple style looked prettier. The eyes were not too bling bling” (A08). The Effect of Applications of Comics on Design: Most interviewees held a more cautious attitude towards the applications of comics to design. They mainly believed that comic styles were less appropriate to be applied to design, especially the shōjo style. They even thought that comics lacked a sense of design. “I don’t
International Conference on Global Trends in Academic Research” (GTAR- 2015)
181
Li-Chiou Chen /GTAR-2015/Full Paper Proceeding/Vol-1,173-184
feel right to put comic figures in a picture or poster in terms of design” (A01). If it’s necessary to apply comics to design, the comic styles should go with the designs by category and purpose. For instance, the shōjo style serves better for novel covers instead of posters (A03). The vivid atmosphere shown in the shōnen exaggerating style can be used in designing posters (B04). The simple style can be applied to cards or webpage backgrounds (A12, B04). In addition, the simple style seems to be the most favored way for the majority of the interviewees while designing posters, cards, etc. Particularly, they all stressed that the figures in their designs were in a cute comic style showing a shorter proportion (A03, A11, A12, B03, B04). Some interviewees didn’t express that they particularly liked the simple style. However, they tended to inject the simple style into the designs of posters or cards because it’s easier for them to represent.
Exploring the correlations between drawing learners and their preferences for comic styles: For most interviewees, the main reason why they liked a comic or read a work by a certain comic artist was the plots. “I think plots matter! Sometimes, readers are still attracted by a comic because of its good plots even though the drawings are poor. If there are beautiful drawings but no plots, readers can only regard the comic as a drawing collection” (A03). Based on the above, attractive plots are the main reason affecting readers’ preferences for comic styles. Apart from attractive plots, the interviewees’ choices of comics also reflected their personalities. For example, the interviewees preferring shōnen exaggerating style had a more optimistic and outspoken personality. They showed their passion for the things they liked (A03, A05, A10, A06). “I’m an optimistic person. I become enthusiastic at what interests me” (A10). The interviewees who liked the simple style were “more careful and kind of emphasizing details” (A08). Those who liked shōjo esthetic and splendid styles would particularly demand for delicacy and perfection. “If my teacher asks me to hand in my work today, I hope it’ll be something with delicacy and beauty. I can’t tolerate imperfection. I’ll get angry and draw it again” (A08). However, one of the interviewees thought that she would make up what she lacked in personality through comic styles. “I often give others an impression that I’m careless. But being a girl, I’m still hoping for something a young girl is supposed to dream of. I think shōjo manga mends me with a young girl’s heart I can’t have. The comics make up what I miss” (A03). The above conditions reveal that the choices of favorite comic styles are mostly correlated with personalities and reflect the interviewees’ characteristics. On the other hand, such choices arise from a psychological effect which a person’s favorite comic style stands for something he or she doesn’t have in personality. The interviewees’ preferences for comic styles further affect their likes and dislikes in shopping. For example, those who preferred the simple style would pick up things with simple and plain designs (A06, A08, A11, A12). The interviewees favoring splendid style would choose items with delicate and gorgeous designs (A04). In addition, those who preferred the realistic style and shōnen exaggerating style “enjoyed something smart rather than romantic when it came to clothing or shopping” (A09).
International Conference on Global Trends in Academic Research” (GTAR- 2015)
182
Li-Chiou Chen /GTAR-2015/Full Paper Proceeding/Vol-1,173-184
Conclusions In this study, the influence of comics on the drawing styles of young learners is explored. It is found that the drawing learners who were selected for the interviews due to being highly influenced by comics and at the same time agreed that they were affected by comics became fond of comic styles. Therefore, they would imitate the comic styles they liked and then evolve into their personal styles. After their personal styles were formed, they intuitively applied such comic styles to designs. On the other hand, those disagreeing that they were affected by comics considered that the drawing styles were formed by themselves without imitating others. Comic works were only for their reference instead of being copied. At the same time, they thought they were partially influenced by American cartoons or illustrations rather than comics. Apart from individual efforts and practices, those agreeing that they were affected by comics would learn comic drawing by means of diverse channels such as peers for mutual learning and encouragement as well as online platforms available for learning and exchange. Thus, their strengths in drawing comics could be enhanced. The preferences of comic styles have created effect on how learners present their drawings. The learners who preferred shōjo esthetic and splendid styles were mainly female. They would imitate the “lines and strokes” shown in these two styles which were simple but delicate. The human figures were usually pictured in a thin and tall fashion. The heads were often small and arms and legs were thin and long in proportion. Those who preferred shōnen exaggerating style thought it could stimulate their creativity in modeling characters. Additionally, different comic styles created significant effect on drawing “eyes”. In the shōjo splendid style, the eyes were big and crystal-like. The shōjo esthetic style adopted a gradient method while the simple style used dots and simple lines to picture eyes. There were supporters for each style. However, these learners’ preferences for comic styles changed as time went by. So did their drawing styles. When it came to the applications of comic styles to design, the learners held a more cautious and careful attitude. They believed that designs should go with different comic styles based on categories and purposes. Not every comic style, such as shōjo style, was appropriate for designs. The correlations between drawing learners and their preferences for comic styles were also discussed. Attractive plots were the major reason for the learners to choose comics. However, this study finds that the learners’ choices of comics also reflected their personalities apart from attractive plots. The choices of comic styles were correlated with their individual personalities. Such choices acted like a mirror to project learners’ personalities. Psychologically, the learners chose certain comic styles because the comics could make up what they lacked in personality. This brought further effect on their preferences for shopping. For example, those who liked the simple style would select items in a simple and austere design. Based on the above conclusions, comic styles can create effect to a certain extent on drawing learners being highly influenced by comics, especially on those who agreed that they were affected by comics. Even those disagreeing that they were affected by comics are more or less influenced by cartoons or illustrations and then further develop their individual drawing styles. The preferences for different comic styles can create effects on the learners’ drawing in various ways, for example, lines and strokes, proportions of human figures, eyes, etc. As time passes by, their preferences for comic styles may change. The correlations between drawing learners and their preferences for comic styles can explain that personalities
International Conference on Global Trends in Academic Research” (GTAR- 2015)
183
Li-Chiou Chen /GTAR-2015/Full Paper Proceeding/Vol-1,173-184
are able to reflect why the learners like a certain type of comics, and meanwhile they can illustrate that learners’ drawing styles are formed because of certain make-up psychology. References Government Information Office (GIO) of Executive Yuan. (2010). Book Publishing Industry Report. Retrieved December 14, 2012, from http://www.moc.gov.tw/images/Yearbook/2010survey/summary.html Chou, Shu-Ping. (2011, June 11). Idol-drama-adapted comics getting hot: sales double, Apple Daily. Hong, Chien-Fan, & Chao, Huei-Ling. (2008). Research of blogs featuring visual creation: take seven bloggers' creative exeperience as examples. Research in Arts Education, 16, 33-75. Hsia, Ruo-Yun. (2012, February 12). Dynamic.roaming.dream carnival, Wang Daily. Chen, Zhong-Wei. (2006). Cultural history of comics in Taiwan. Tapei: Du Wei Culture. Chen, Wan-Chien. (2007, November 30). Wan Wan's new book: retrospecting to the days carrying schoolbags, United Daily. Chen, Chao-Yu. (2006, May 27). Reading comics: Taiwan's idol dramas being adapted to comics, Apple Daily. Yeh, Han. (2007). Characteristics of local culture in Taiwan's contemporary local serial comics. Visual Arts Forum, 2, 76 -94. Liu, Ming-Chin. (2011). Has the Internet stangled the comic industry?. Retrieved from http://mbainlife.blogspot.com/2011/07/blog-post_28.html Su, Xing-Lin. (2006). Analysis of comic publication market in Taiwan (1990-1998). Retrieved from http://blog.udn.com/jason080/351304
International Conference on Global Trends in Academic Research” (GTAR- 2015)
184